Survival
by Lifeguard
Summary: Forgive me Mulder, Scully whispered. The smoking man thinks he can get rid of Scully for good, can Mulder find her before its to late? FINISHED! Stand alone piece. Please R&R!


**Title: Survival**

**Author:** Lifeguard

**Rating:** T for violence and course language.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, just borrowing the characters for now.

**Spoilers: **References to Scully's various abductions/kidnappings.

**Summary: **The Smoking Man tries to dispose of Scully once and for all. Can Mulder find her before its to late?

**Author's Note:** Yet another story which came in the form of a dream. I feel like Coleridge though, what with his fragmented poems, cause I can never remember exactly what I dreamed, and that means coming up with a title is harder. (Wow, I really need to take a break from studying for the Romantic Literature exam, lol!) This story is a stand alone piece, doesn't really fit into any season, so put it where you like. Enjoy!

* * *

"_Not even your partner can save you now,"_ she heard the evil voice echo in her mind over the roaring rapids. The numbness cocooned her, hypothermia taking over her body. He would never find her, nobody would. They probably thought she was dead. She might as well be, it was inevitable at this rate. She let her eyes slowly close, any rational thoughts of what was medically right were gone. She had finally given up trying to stay awake, to stay alive.

"Forgive me Mulder," Scully whispered as she slipped into the darkness.

**4 Days Earlier**

Mulder sat alone in the basement office, mindlessly throwing pencils at the ceiling. Tossing the last one, and seeing it securely lodge itself with the others, he turned his attention back to his desk. He sipped at his coffee, finally cooled off enough to drink. He glanced at his watch and realized that his partner was late, a very un-Scully like thing for her to do. He wondered if she had a day off, but couldn't recall her asking for one, much less telling him. Maybe he had missed it. She often accused him of not listening to her, especially when he was letting his mind wander over a new case. He reached for the phone on his desk and dialled her number. It rang four times before the answering machine picked up, then he hung up. He tried her cell, but it didn't even ring, just skipped to her voice mail, indicating that her phone had been turned off.

"Scully, it's me. Where are you?" was the message he left. He sighed, hanging up the phone. He let his head rest against the back of his chair, his feet resting on his desk. He was tired. He hated not being able to sleep at night. If Scully was here, she'd chastise him for napping, saying that the case was what he should be focusing on. It was true, they had a good one, but Scully had the crucial files, and he couldn't do anything without them, much less her. Which was another reason why he couldn't figure out why she hadn't arrived yet. The files were important, the case hot, so where was she?

Mulder jumped a good few inches off his chair, his feet crashing to the floor as the phone rang. He grabbed it,

"M-Mulder…" he said, still shaken from the scare.

"Has Agent Scully arrived yet? The two of you were supposed to meet with me ten minutes ago," his boss, AD Skinner barked into the phone, getting straight to the point.

Mulder mentally slapped himself for forgetting the meeting. Where was Scully when he needed her?

"No sir, she hasn't come in yet."

"Have you called her?"

"Tried her home and cell. No answer. I'll come up if you want, I'm sure she'll be in soon, but she has the case files we need."

"Then give her another ten minutes, and if she hasn't come in yet, come up yourself."

"Can do sir."

Mulder disconnected then re-dialled Scully's cell phone, but got nothing but the voice mail again,

"Scully, it's me. Listen, we had a meeting with Skinner this morning, and we're late. You've got ten more minutes until he's really pissed to get here."

He left the same message on her home machine then gathered his things to head upstairs, leaving a note on her desk as to where he was.

"The case involves some new information we found on the colonization plan, about the black oil," Mulder explained to the AD.

"And where exactly did you find this information Agent Mulder?"

"I can't divulge my source sir, but Scully and I want to check out the site featured in these pictures I was given."

Skinner glanced over the photos, "This says Alberta, Canada. Do you have any good grounds on which to justify this trip?"

"Apparently besides this supposedly abandoned site, there are some key people I want to talk to."

"I really would like to hear what Agent Scully has to say about all this. Where is she?"

It had been almost half an hour since Mulder had left the last message on her machine, and he had been trying to stall for her ever since reaching the AD's office,

"I really don't know sir. I was going to drive by her place when we were done discussing this."

"Sounds like a good idea, why don't you go now. Cause I'm not letting you go to Alberta till I hear her side of the case."

Mulder gave his supervisor a mock wounded look, "You don't trust me Skinner?"

His supervisor sighed loudly, "Just go Mulder."

"Scully! Open up it's me," he called through the door to her apartment, "You're car is outside, so unless you took a cab, then you're still in here."

Her car was still parked out front, and Mulder didn't understand why she didn't just call him for a ride if she was having problems. The thought crossed his mind that she might be sick, and he worried that she might be to ill to get out of bed. He dug frantically into his pockets, trying to find the spare key she had given him. Finding it, he unlocked the door, hoping that she was alright, that she was already on her way to work. He opened the door to silence. Nothing looked different in the apartment, nothing out of the ordinary.

"Scully?"

There was no answer. There were clean dishes in the dish drainer from her dinner the night before, no breakfast dishes though. He wandered further in, towards her bedroom. The door was ajar, and he knocked gently,

"Scully?" he called.

He pushed the door open. Inside her bed was left un-made, her pyjamas tossed onto the pillow. Her brief case was on her bed, folders and manila envelopes cluttering the sheets.

Something wasn't right. Mulder instinctively pulled out his gun, and swept the room with it and his eyes. Nothing. He kicked the door to the closet, but it only held her clothes. He made his way slowly towards the bathroom, but found nothing inside. He made his way over to the bed and looked at the folders. They were the case file folders, but they were empty. There were a few pieces of paper with information on them scattered here and there, but they didn't hold real importance. He glanced at her night stand, her cell phone sitting on it beside her house phone. Something defiantly wasn't right. He took out his own cell phone and called for back up.

"Wake up Agent Scully."

The voice sounded so far away. She tried to open her eyes, but they were heavy, and her head was still swimming in the darkness. Suddenly she was being shaken violently. She cracked her eyes into slits, glad that the room was dim. The figure beside her stopped moving her shoulder. Her head hurt. She had no idea where she was. The last thing she remembered she had been getting ready for work, there was a knock on the door. She had answered it, and everything had gone black.

Now she was scared. She came to realize that something was covering her mouth, and her arms and legs were tied up. From what she could make out, there were two figures in the room: one beside her, the other just a little further away.

"Good, you're awake," the first figure said, the one closest to her.

She tried to say something, but it just came out as mumbling. The first person reached towards her, and her first instinct was to pull away, but he grabbed her chin harshly, pulling her face to him, then ripping the duct tape from her mouth. She gasped, and coughed, her throat dry, "What…what do you want?"

"What do you think Agent Scully?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" she spat at him.

Her head reeled back as he slapped her across the face, "I will not tolerate that tone!" he growled at her.

"Now, now. Let's be a little kinder to our guest," came a third voice. It sounded like the third person was standing somewhere behind her, but she knew exactly who it was. She smelled the smoke.

"I…I don't honestly know what you want," she hissed at the unseen man, tasting blood in her mouth.

"I think you do. We have your case files, it's just a matter of what you know now," the smoking man appeared at her other side, dragging out a cigarette.

"I don't know anymore than what's in the files. You could have asked Skinner that, or Mulder, but I don't blame you for not wanting to see him. He'd probably shoot you on the spot."

The first figure raised his hand to her again, and she recoiled, but the smoking man held up his hand for the figure to stop, "There's no need for that I said! She'll get what's coming later."

Scully's eyes got bigger and she turned to face the older man, "What are you going to do with me? Mulder will be looking for me you know."

He laughed a little, "You see, that's exactly what I want. But the problem is, he's not going to find you Agent Scully. Once we've determined that you have no further information on the case, then we're going to simply dispose of you. In what way, that will be the surprise. The plan is that once you're gone, we shouldn't have any more problems convincing Mulder to join us."

"You sick bastard! He'll never join you, especially if you get rid of me! Mulder will know you did it!"

"Will he?"

Police officers were stationed in and around Scully's apartment, and it made Mulder sick. He hated the site of them near her place, it reminded him of the other times she had been hurt or taken away from him. He was in her room, surveying the area again, trying to think of what might have happened. There were no signs of a struggle, or of anyone breaking in. And if this was a kidnapping, there was no note, no ransom call. If they wanted the case files, and took them, then why take Scully? Maybe they thought he knew more, and they would use her to get to him. He didn't want that to happen. If they wanted information, why not take him? He knew more, he had his sources. Why did they involve Scully? It made him angry. Assistant director Skinner appeared in the doorway of the room and Mulder turned to face him,

"Have you heard anything?" he asked his boss.

"No, nothing. I'm sorry Mulder."

"Why take her? I don't understand. If they want something from me, I would gladly go in her place," he said, getting frustrated.

"We'll find her Mulder, we have before."

The door to the room burst open, light flooding in, burning her eyes. She knew what was coming. It had been going on for hours now. They would come in, ask her questions about the case, what she knew, and about Mulder's informants. And she would give the same answers; that she did not know any more about the case than what was in the files, that she had no idea how to contact her partner's new informants or who they were and that there was nothing that they already didn't know. It wasn't the questioning that she dreaded as they stalked into the room, but what came with every answer they didn't like. It would range from a slap across the face, to a gun being held to her head, or them slowly making cuts in her arms or legs, and then irritating the wound somehow. The latest effort consisted of threats to her family, which was killing her inside. She honestly couldn't tell them anything they wanted to know, and the sick part was, she knew they understood that. It was all a cruel game leading up to the smoking man's ultimate plan. She prayed that Mulder would find her, yet also prayed that he wouldn't fall into their elaborate trap set for him.

As they approached her, she prepared herself for the first question, then the first blow. But neither came. Instead, the smoking bastard appeared in front of her.

"How are we doing Agent Scully?"

She spit at him.

"Now that's no way to act. I thought you would be a little nicer because we're not here to ask you anymore questions," he said sarcastically.

"Go to hell!"

"Don't you want to know what's going to happen now?" he taunted, producing a small black case from his jacket.

"If you're going to kill me, do it fast, and I'll be sure to come back and haunt you."

"Feisty, even after this long. I didn't think you had it in you Dana."

"Do it you son of a bitch, cause I can't wait for Mulder to kill you."

"I'm not going to kill you. I wouldn't do that to a lady, even though you don't speak like one. None of my men will do it either, we're just going to let nature take care of it."

She raised an eyebrow at him, "What?"

"You'll see," he said, producing a large needle from the case, filling it with whatever serum was in the small bottle. She recoiled from him as far as possible. She didn't want whatever poison that was to get in her.

"Oh now Dana, don't struggle. This is only to help you forget what happened here. It won't kill you. That wouldn't be interesting," he smiled evilly, grabbing at her arm.

"Don't touch me!" she screamed.

"And just a moment ago you were begging me to kill you. This won't hurt a bit," he jammed the needle into her arm.

She felt the green liquid flow through her vain, and suddenly she was light headed, and then she passed out. The last thing she heard was his evil voice, "Not even your partner can save you now."

Mulder lay on his couch, gazing at his ceiling. There was nothing more they could do. There were no leads, no call, no clues. Nothing. It was like Scully had vanished into thin air. All he could do was wait, and he hated it. He had placed the taped "x" on his window, in hopes that his informant could get him some new lead. All he could do was wait, and all he could think about was Scully, out there in the night somewhere. The hot tears burned in his eyes at the thought of loosing her again.

She was cold, and her head felt like it was going to explode. She was lying on something damp, it smelled like soil. She rolled slowly onto her back, and then gradually opened her eyes. Sunlight broke through and she shut them again, waiting for her eyes to adjust. Then she heard the birds. Where was she? She opened her eyes again, starring up at the blossoming leaves on trees, feeling the slightly cool spring breeze on her face. She blinked, then sat up, propping herself on her elbow. Her head spun. She looked around, and only saw trees. The forest. She was somewhere in the forest, but she couldn't remember how she had come to get there. In fact, she couldn't remember anything beyond getting up in the morning. She panicked, standing up on unsteady legs, spinning around to look in all directions.

"Hello!" she called out, her voice echoing around her, "Can anyone hear me?"

Only the silence of nature answered her. Her knees buckled, and she collapsed onto the ground. Her head, why did it hurt so much? Where was she? How did she get here? She closed her eyes, passing out again.

The sun was higher in the sky when she awoke again. She had hoped that what she had awoken to before was merely a bad dream, but to her horror, she was still in the same spot. She sat up slowly, thankful that her terrible headache had subsided. Again, she looked around, and called out for help, but only her echo answered. She frantically dug into her jacket pockets for her cell phone or pager but couldn't find either one. She tried to remember how she had gotten here, in the middle of the forest, but again, couldn't remember past getting up that morning. It was all so terribly frustrating, and scary at the same time. Scully got to her feet, more steadily this time, and began to walk. She wandered in no particular direction, not having the foggiest clue which way to go, just hoping that she would stumble upon a path, or a road.

The press conference would be starting soon. When the morning had brought no new clues, no sign of Scully, Skinner had decided that they had to get the case out to the media, to see if anyone had seen anything or knew what had happened to the agent.

"You ready Mulder?" Skinner said, appearing at the younger man's side.

Mulder nodded, and they walked through the double doors of the room where the media waited. Skinner walked to the front of the room and took the podium to give the facts of the case,

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming. We have reason to believe that yesterday morning one of our agents, Special Agent Dana Scully was taken from her home. There were indications that the abduction may have been related to the case she was working on with her partner. There has been no sign of Agent Scully, or ransom call as of yet, so we are asking the public's help in finding her. We are requesting that if anyone has any information on the whereabouts of Agent Scully, that they come forward, or they can leave an anonymous tip if they wish. There will be a cash reward for the person or persons who can help us find her. I will now turn the podium over to her partner, Special Agent Mulder, Agent Mulder," Skinner said, indicating it was his turn to talk.

Mulder approached the microphone slowly, and cleared his throat, "Ladies and gentlemen, as Assistant Director Skinner said, I am Agent Mulder, Agent Scully's partner. I discovered she was missing yesterday morning upon not being able to reach her, and not finding her at home. Scully, I mean Agent Scully, is an outstanding agent, and she would not be abducted without a struggle. It is unlike her to just disappear. Frankly, I'm worried about her. We need your help to find her before anything happens…I…we need to see her returned unharmed. To whoever took her," he paused, looking directly at the cameras, "if you hurt her, I will personally hunt you down and make sure you are persecuted to the full extent of the law. So I suggest, for your own benefit, that you bring Scully back as soon as possible," he growled. He stopped, and when he began to speak again, his voice had lost the tough edge, "Scully, if you can hear this, we're going to find you, I promise."

With that, Mulder stepped away from the podium as the media began to shout questions at him.

"Agent Mulder! Agent Mulder! What kind of case are you working on?"

"Agent Mulder! Do you have any idea who took your partner?"

"Do you think she's still alive?"

Skinner again took to the mike, raising his hands to try and calm the crowd. He watched his agent walk to the back of the room, leaving while ignoring the questions still being thrown at him.

"Can anybody here me?" she called out, yet only the birds and wind answered her. She shed her jacket from the heat of the sun and walking, and gasped at the cuts on her arms. There was dried blood, and marks that she couldn't remember getting. She wondered what had happened to her between getting up that morning and ending up in the middle of nowhere. She had been walking for a few hours and had found nothing. As far as she knew, there was no civilization for miles. Wherever she was, she may not be found for days. It scared her to not know where she was, or how she got there, much less how to find her way home. She prayed that Mulder was looking for her, that he would find her.

She winced as a branch tore at her arm, ripping with it a piece of her shirt, covered with dried blood.

Mulder sat outside of the conference room with his head in his hands. Not only had his informants failed him, there was still no sign of his partner. He was convinced at this point that this was no kidnapping, but had to do with darker powers. The door opened and Skinner walked out,

"How are you holding up Mulder?"

"About as well as I look I guess," which wasn't saying much from his wrinkled clothes and baggy eyes.

"All we can do is wait now. The media has her information, maybe someone knows something, maybe we'll get lucky."

"I don't think anyone will be able to help us. I think that smoking bastard has something to do with this. There are no leads, and the only motive was the case we're working. This reeks of his style, of abduction. I want you to work any contacts you have, see what they can uncover. I am going to try to get in touch with mine again. They may be Scully's only hope now."

Skinner nodded slowly, "I understand Mulder, I'll do my best."

"Thank you sir."

The sun began to set, and Scully decided to walk in that direction. At least she knew which way she was headed now. She shielded her eyes from the sun's bright rays, and with reduced vision, tripped over a branch. She landed on the ground and then gently pushed herself into a sitting position. Her ankle throbbed,

"Great, just great," she muttered. This was all she needed now, to be lost in the woods with a sprained ankle. She stayed on the ground, watching the sun fade through the trees. What was she going to do when night came? She dreaded the thought of being alone out there in the dark. Her stomach rumbled and for the first time that day, she realized how hungry she was. She had to try to get a little further before the light was gone. She had to find a safe place for the night. Dragging herself up, she began to limp along again, to where, she had no idea. Her only thoughts were of survival.

The phone jolted Mulder out of his thoughts. He reached for it,

"Mulder,"

"We have no information as to the whereabouts of your partner Agent Mulder. I'm sorry, but please do not contact us again for this matter," a deep voice answered.

"What do you mean you have nothing? I have to find her," he pleaded.

"I'm sorry, I tried, but there is nothing I can tell you. I wish I could Agent Mulder, goodbye."

"No wait! Please! You've got to try harder…you have to help me!" but the only response came from the dial tone.

Mulder slammed down the phone and paced the room, stopping at the window. He leaned his head against the glass, gazing out into the night,

"Where are you Scully?"

She huddled closer to the rock, wrapping her jacket further around her, shivering from the cold. She couldn't sleep, she was to cold to, but mostly she was to afraid. It was so dark, the moonlight hardly providing any light. If she was at home, she would chastise herself for being afraid of the dark, but now, all her mind could think about were the dangers that could lurk around her. She gazed up at the stars, wondering how she would ever get home,

"Please find me Mulder," she whispered into the night.

She awoke to the chirping of birds and the sun streaming through the trees. Somehow she had fallen asleep in the night, despite the fear and cold. She got up, and stood, testing her ankle, still tender from the day before. She would try again to find her way today, and so she set off, for another exhausting day of hiking, of survival.

Mulder strode into Skinner's office, not even bothering to knock, despite the objections of the secretary.

"Did you get any information?" he demanded of his supervisor.

Skinner turned his gaze to the younger man, taking off his glasses,

"Not much unfortunately Mulder. All I heard was that it was the case files that whoever took her were after, not that we didn't already know that. My sources could only speculate what these people would do to Agent Scully."

"What? What did they think?"

"That whoever it is will pump her for information, than most likely…dispose of her. That's only speculation though-"

"Then we have to find her!"

"With what information Mulder?"

"I don't know!"

"We're doing all we can. We have every officer in D.C. pretty much looking, and the top agents working the case. We have PD canvassing the entire state, not to mention the whole country on alert. What more can we do?"

Mulder slumped into a chair, his face in his hands, "I…I don't know…I can't take this. I can't take just sitting around and waiting, knowing there's nothing I can do."

It was nearly half way through the day, and Scully limped along, tired, hungry and still lost. She stopped to rest against a tree when she heard it. Water, rushing water. There was a river somewhere in the distance. All she could think of was the cool water, anything to keep the dehydration at bay. Ignoring her body's protests, she forged on.

"Mulder, we've been working on trying to find her since you told us she was gone. But we really don't have anything to give you. We're sorry," Frohike said.

"Nothing?"

"No buddy, sorry. Trust me, if there was anyway of finding her, we would have done it by now," added Byers.

Langly nodded in agreement. Mulder sighed. His last hope was lost. Even the Gun Men couldn't help him anymore. His cell phone rang,

"Mulder, we've got something," Skinner said on the other end.

"What?" he replied, standing up in anticipation.

"Some hunters found a piece of blue cloth where they were hunting, it had blood on it. They took it to PD, and it was sent to DNA a couple hours ago. I just got the results. It's Scully's."

"Where did they find it sir?"

Mulder listened to the information, then hung up. He turned to his friends, "We've got a search area."

The cool water tasted so good. She knelt next to the river, drinking and washing her face. The water roared in front of her, the rapids charging along. She sat back, feeling better after the refreshing liquid. This had to be a main river, and she figured if she followed it long enough, she would find some civilization. She scanned the banks of the river. The other side was steep jutting rocks, which turned into cliffs above. She got up and began to walk along her bank, hoping she would find her way.

"Ok! Group A, you're going North, B, you're south, C, east, D, west. You find anything at all, and you radio it in immediately with your co-ordinates. Everyone understand!" Mulder bellowed at the search teams assembled in front of him. He couldn't believe the amount of volunteers who had turned out to help him find Scully. They already had about a hundred cadets, and more than enough officers, but the overwhelming support of the local communities was touching. He knew that a lot of them wanted to be heroes, to be the ones to find Scully, to get the reward, but at the same time, he knew that most of them were there just to help, do what they could for a woman that needed them the most right now. There was a general nodding and some cheers as the teams descended on the woods to begin searching. Mulder walked over to the officers with the scent dogs, and handed them a shirt he had taken from Scully's apartment. The officer let the dogs smell it and they were off too. He looked up at the sky as a helicopter flew over head. If she was out there, they were going to find her.

Scully had been following the river for awhile, when she glanced up the other banks again. They had gotten considerably lower and suddenly she gasped. At the top was a chain link fence. That had to mean that there was a road or a house or something on the other side. At that moment, she didn't care, she just wanted to get up there. She walked along, and spotting a shallow part of the water, began to cross. The water was freezing and she hurried as best she could on the slippery rocks. On the other side she searched for a lower part of the escarpment to climb. Finally she came upon a smaller slope and began to climb towards the top. The dirt fell on her face, and her ankle screamed in protest, but the will to survive, to find help kept her going. She slipped a little, then grabbed onto a rock to steady herself. At last, she came to the top, and found that there was considerably more room beside the fence to stand. She held the metal for support and looked through to a field. Far in the distance she could see a farm, and she began to scream for help. She knew she was probably to far for anyone to hear her, so she moved along, trying to in vain to spot someone, anyone. She kept moving along the fence, yelling, and not noticing that the space between the fence and edge of the cliff was getting smaller. Suddenly, her foot slipped on a rock, and she clutched the fence for support. She looked behind her, and gasped. The cliff dropped off, and she was now probably a good eight meters above the river. Her space to move was drastically smaller, and she looked to her left, seeing that if she moved a little more that way, it would get bigger again, enough to sit and wait. Scully inched her way to that spot, easing herself along the fence,

"Easy, easy," she encouraged herself.

She took another step to the left when the earth crumbled beneath her. She screamed, grabbing the fence for dear life, but it wasn't enough. She felt herself hurtling backwards, hitting part of the cliff as she fell. She reached out for anything to stop her descent, but only rolled faster. Then she was in a free fall, and abruptly hit the ice cold water. For a second all she could hear was the rushing water in her ears, and she pushed her arms up to break the surface, gasping for air. Her body was being pushed by the rapids downstream, and she couldn't fight against it. She tried to keep her head above the water, but she was pushed down again and again, and then she would come back up, her lungs burning. The river curved and she was bashed against the rocks, then dragged on by the merciless water. As she hit the hard stone, she felt her arm snap, and cried out, only to choke on the water again. Scully was swept along further, when the river began to slow in pace. It was then she spotted the log, and kicking as best she could, made it, and grabbed it the best she could. It continued to move with the river, and her arm burned with pain as she clutched her make shift life raft. The water moved faster again, and she felt her legs hitting more rocks, getting numb with cold. Crash! It jolted her body, and it took her a few seconds to realize the log had stopped. She glanced to her right and left and noticed that the log was caught between two large rocks in the middle of the river. It wasn't going to move any further. Her only hope of survival now was to climb on top, to get out of the water before hypothermia took over. She heaved her sore and tired body up on the log, and finally was lying, straddling it. She breathed heavily, and began to shiver.

Mulder ran along, trying to keep up with the dogs. They had a scent, they were steadily making their way through the forest, following an invisible trail. One dog stopped and whined next to an area of foliage that looked trampled.

"She was here Agent Mulder," the officer said as the dog took off again.

"And she's not now, which hopefully means she's still alive," Mulder answered as he called out her name again.

"Mulder….Mulder…" she whispered, barely audible above the roar of the rapids. The had to stay awake. If she fell asleep the hypothermia would take over, she would die. The sun barely warmed her cold body anymore.

"Jeremiah…was a…bullfrog…" she began to sing weakly, to stay awake.

"Where are we?" Mulder asked the cop walking beside him. The dogs still had a scent, but it was fading. They had their noses to the ground, trying to pick it up again. This process slowed them down considerably from the pace they had been at.

"We're here sir," the officer pointed out on the map to him.

Mulder observed the paper, studying their position, "How far do you think we can cover before nightfall?"

"We may be able to make the river, but that's pushing it."

The river looked to be miles away based on the map. She could be anywhere out there,

"We don't stop till we find her."

Scully had lost all concept of time. She didn't know if she had been on that log for hours or days anymore. Her mind was slipping, she could barely recite a poem without pausing to re-think what she was saying. She had to stay awake, but it was getting so hard. Her eyes were heavy, her body numb with cold. All she wanted to do was sleep, but that would be giving up. Her rational mind fought to stay conscious, to survive, but it was a loosing battle. Who would ever find her out here? Did they even know where to begin looking for her? If she couldn't remember how she got here, what made her think that even Mulder would find her now. Mulder. Would she ever see him again? Ever get to tell him just how much she cared about him? "_Not even your partner can save you now,"_ she heard an evil voice echo in her mind over the roaring rapids. The numbness cocooned her, hypothermia taking over her body. He would never find her, nobody would. They probably thought she was dead. She might as well be, it was inevitable at this rate. She let her eyes slowly close, any rational thoughts of what was medically right were gone. She had finally given up trying to stay awake, to stay alive.

"Forgive me Mulder," Scully whispered as she slipped into the darkness.

The sun began to set and the officers looked at him with pity.

"It's going to be to dark to continue searching soon. We have to head back Agent Mulder."

"I've got a flashlight, and the dog's still have something. We're staying."

"Do you want to be lost as well?"

"My partner is out there somewhere! I will find her!"

The officer backed off and continued to scan the area.

"Attention all teams! Attention all teams. Be advised that you now have only an hour to make it back to base before nightfall. We recommend that you all come in. Helicopter searches will continue. Over," crackled the radio. Mulder turned it off.

"Whoa! We've got something!" a dog handler yelled, as his dog began to take off. Mulder ran to catch up with them. He could swear that he heard rushing water. They must be nearing the river. He continued to run after the dogs, and suddenly they were at the banks of the rapid river, and the dogs stopped.

"They've lost the scent Agent Mulder. She must have gone into the water. I'm sorry," said the dog handler.  
"Then let's just walk the banks for awhile. Maybe she's on the other side," Mulder answered, scanning the other side.

"We need to head back. We can have the helicopters sweep it."

"No!" Mulder barked, jogging up the river, "Scully!" he yelled.

He ran, the officers following him, but knowing that they should head back. Mulder kept watching the other side, hoping that she would be there, hoping that the worst hadn't come true.

And then he saw it. A log in the middle of the river, jammed between rocks, a figure lying on top of it. He saw her red hair, and screamed her name, screamed for help.

"Scully! Scully!" he bellowed, rushing towards the banks. He began to wade out into the water, but realized that it was getting to deep, and to fast to go any further.

"I need a rope!" he yelled, and the rescue team was suddenly throwing him one. He tied it around his waist, venturing further into the cold water.

"Scully! Scully! Can you hear me!"

She didn't respond to him, didn't even lift her head. He inched closer, swimming as hard as he could against the current. He grabbed the log, steadying himself against the rocks it was lodged on, pushing himself up towards her.

"Scully! Wake up Scully! Please, talk to me," he pleaded through chattering teeth.

Her lips were blue, her face paler than ever. There was a gash on her forehead and it was damp with blood. He stroked her hair away from her neck and felt for a pulse. He heaved a sigh of relief when he felt a faint one.

"Come on Scully, wake up. You've gotta wake up."

She didn't respond and he knew time was running out. He hoisted himself up on the log and took her as best he could in his arms. He slipped them both back into the water, and held onto her with one arm, while paddling with the other as the team on shore dragged them in. As soon as he could touch the bottom, he stood up, carrying her against his body. He got to the sandy bank and placed her on the ground, the team swarming around them.

Somehow medical personal had gotten to the scene, probably from the helicopter above, and they moved in to help Scully. A blanket was placed around his shoulder, as he knelt by her side.

"She's not breathing! Bag her!"

Mulder watched in horror as they began to pump air into Scully.

"We've got a faint pulse. Pushing the warm saline," said a paramedic as he attached an IV to her arm, getting someone else to hold up the bag of liquid.

"Come on Scully…please come back to me," Mulder pleaded with her.

The minutes seemed to drag on for hours as he knelt there holding her hand, hoping that she would be alright. The paramedics continued to work on her, and then suddenly they were rolling her on her side, as she coughed up water.

"Agent Scully, can you hear us?" a paramedic asked, but she was still unresponsive.

"She's breathing on her own. Let's get the basket down here. We'll air lift her to the hospital," added the second paramedic, radioing what he wanted.

Hours later, Mulder sat by her hospital bed, watching her sleep. They said she was going to make it. She would be weak for awhile, would have to be kept over night for observation, but other than that, she would be fine. That was his Scully, a fighter, a survivor. He stroked her left hand, her right arm encased in a cast, and then brushed an errant strand of red hair from her face. It was then that he watched her stir,

"Scully?" he whispered, her eyes fluttering.

Slowly she opened them, her brilliantly blue eyes staring into his brown ones,

"M-Mulder…" she answered weakly.

"How are you feeling?" he managed to speak past the lump in his throat.

"Warmer…" she smiled a little.

"That's good," he replied, grinning back at her.

"Mulder….how did you…find me? How did I get out there?"

He shook his head, "I was hoping you could tell me that Scully. I found you because…I wouldn't stop looking," his voice shook a little.

A tear fell down her cheek, and he wiped it away with his thumb, "I…I don't know how I got there…but it doesn't matter now…you found me…you didn't give up on me, even when I…I gave up on….myself."

"You never gave up Scully. You fought."  
Her eyes left his, and her smile faded, "I did…when I was on that log, I thought I was going to die, and all I could think about was you. I wanted to stay strong, but I couldn't. I gave up…I'm sorry…"

Mulder felt a tear fall down his own face, and he took his partner's hand, squeezing it, "But you're here now…that's all that matters…you did make it," he kissed her hand.

"Thanks to you," she whispered.

**The End. **

_**Like it? Love it? Hate it? Let me know please! I had to write this, even though exams are so close, cause if I didn't, then there would be no room in my head for important information to pass said exams. **_

_**For those of you following my CSI story "Holding On," I promise, in 6 days or so, it will be updated again, with lots to come. Happy Holidays Everyone! And best of luck to everyone else writing exams! **_


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